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Kids and COVID-19: Resources and Research List

Photo by Marcin Jozwiak on Unsplash

The CRRU listings are being updated weekly, grouped by research studies and news articles.

A sidebar provides highlights, such as the recently released Canadian Child Care: Preliminary Results from a National Survey during the COVID-19 Pandemic, which notes: “One impact of the pandemic has been that early learning and child care has been cast in a new light: as a necessity, not a luxury, in a well-functioning 21st century society. At the same time, the very nature of Canada’s provision of this necessity has been demonstrated as deficient in a new way—or more precisely—for new audiences. As the fragility of Canadian child care services has become more obvious, paradoxically, there has also been widespread public and political recognition that accessible, reliable ELCC services need to be an essential part of Canada`s post-pandemic recovery and reconstruction of the economy.”

An OMEP (World Organisation for Early Childhood Education) position paper, published on August 12, notes: “The early years are of vital importance, and State parties need to take special measures to protect children and to promote good living conditions based on the best interests of the child, in accordance with the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). In this time dominated by the global pandemic, there are additional risks for young children. The pandemic is not only a virus, it is a huge human crisis and it is verified that children living in conditions of poverty, extreme poverty, and inequality have worsened their situation.

State parties are guarantors of the fulfilment of the Rights of the Child and have the duty to implement the necessary policies to protect and support children and families, in collaboration with local authorities and organizations. Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) plays a fundamental role in this support.”

The listings also include the most recently updated re-opening plans for school and childcare across Canada.